A vacuum cleaner can comprises a housing provided with a water receptacle with a steam generator, a receptacle for collecting the picked-up material, and a motor-driven turbine or other blower arrangement to generate suction through a suction hose which can be extended via extension wands and has at the end of the extension wands, a pick-up head at which the suction path terminates in a suction nozzle. That head can have a steam nozzle arrangement connected to the steam generator by a steam line.
Vacuum cleaners of this type have been used to pick up large particles and pieces and even liquids successfully and can even be used in the open to pick up leaves and the like. Typical of such systems are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,459 and DE-GM 91 10 171 which are equipped with means for subjecting the surface over which the head is displaced, to treatment with steam so as to remove contaminants which are difficult to pick up by suction alone.
The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,459 is excessively large and not conveniently handlable. The suction and steam nozzles are separate from one another and there are no seals which can ensure that the nozzles work effectively. The system of DE GM 91 10 171, however, can be more readily handled and the selective removability of the liquid tank simplifies refilling or emptying. However, that apparatus is lacking in the ability to act as an all-purpose vacuum with universal application.